On June 3, 2025, a Moscow court designated Malik Khatazhayev, head of Lesta Games, as a participant in an “extremist organization.” The ruling strips Lesta of all its assets, which the state will confiscate and likely hand over to new owners. Prosecutors base their charges against Lesta Games on a campaign to raise money for Ukraine, even though the fundraising was conducted by Wargaming, a different company that had divested from Russia.

Malik Khatazhayev shares his new “extremist” status in Russia with Victor Kislyi, founder and CEO of Wargaming, which owes its fame, especially in Russia, to the multiplayer game World of Tanks. After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Wargaming announced that it would divest from Russia and Belarus. It later transferred these assets to Lesta, which had spun off from the company. 

As a result of this separation, Wargaming continued its operations outside of Russia and Belarus, supporting and developing its flagship products. Wargaming and Lesta now manage completely different projects, operating in separate orbits.

Wargaming did launch charitable initiatives to support Ukraine, however months after its separation from Lesta. The Russian studio issued a statement emphasizing that it has no involvement “with other games or projects of a similar nature.”

After the asset freeze, Lesta representatives issued a series of social media posts, asserting the company’s “full compliance” with Russian and Belarusian laws and expressing hope that the court would rule in its favor.

Following a closed hearing on June 3, 2025, the court nevertheless designated Malik Khatazhayev and Victor Kislyi as participants in an “extremist organization” and granted the authorities’ request to nationalize the company’s assets. However, the ruling mentions only two of the three frozen LLCs: Lesta (the company’s main asset) and Lesta Games Agency (its publishing division).

The Investigative Committee of Belarus launched a "special proceeding" against the co-founder and co-owner of Wargaming, Nikolai Katselapov, owning 17% of shares in Wargaming Group. He is charged with financing extremist activity and financing terrorist activity.